Vesper Drink Recipe

Glass to Use

Ingredients

Mixing Instructions

Shake everything with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist, and run it around the edge of the glass.

This is the martini ordered by James Bond in Ian Fleming's novel, Casino Royale. Bond tells the bartender, "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

Kina Lillet is no longer available, and is generally replaced with Lillet Blanc for a modern Vesper cocktail.

Comments on Vesper:

You are definitely NOT a true James Bond fan if you've never made or ordered one of these. Very tasty to say the least. More refreshing IMO than a standard Martini.

By The Yorkshire Guzzler on May 27th, 2010 at 05:30:44

I had 6 or 7 of these on holiday last year and it was the most drunk i have ever been without throwing up. You're technically supposed to burn the lemon peel a little bit to release the oils but if you do it too much its like drinking lemon oven cleaner so I wouldn't advise doing that yourself

By Anonymous Coward on July 18th, 2009 at 09:49:18

Currently available Lillet makes for a nice drink, but it doesn't have the bitter taste of the Kina Lillet. I've found the Matin variation made with Campari awfully good.

By The Porch Slurper on December 29th, 2008 at 17:26:33

Go out and buy a bottle of Lillet (white) and make this now! You can't be disappointed. Very very tasty and worth the little bit of trouble it may take to assemble the ingredients. Don't forget the lemon twist. This cocktail is sure to make your top ten favorites.